Parliament Passes Bill To Repeal Or Amend 71 Obsolete Laws

Parliament on Wednesday passed a Bill to repeal or amend 71 obsolete and outdated laws, with the stated objective of enhancing the ease of living for citizens.

Piloting the Repealing and Amending Bill, 2025 in the Rajya Sabha, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal said the legislation sought to remove outdated statutes, correct errors that had crept in during the law-making process, and eliminate discriminatory provisions from certain laws.

The Bill was cleared by voice vote in the Rajya Sabha and had earlier been passed by the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Replying to the debate, Meghwal reiterated that improving ease of living was a key aim of the legislation. “We give priority to ease of living along with ease of doing business,” he said, adding that the government would bring legislation to repeal laws that had outlived their relevance.

Referring to the Indian Succession Act, 1925, the minister pointed out that wills made by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains or Parsis in the then Madras, Bombay and Calcutta presidencies were required to be probated, while a similar provision did not apply to Muslims.

“Why not Muslims? Will there be no consideration over it? This is the Cgovernment and the country will function according to the Constitution,” he said, stressing that the Constitution prevents discrimination on the basis of religion, caste or sex.

“These reforms are a step towards liberation from a colonial mindset,” he added.

However, Vivek K Tankha (Congress) disagreed with the government’s claim, arguing that the exercise amounted largely to paperwork and technical formalities, without adequately assessing the impact of the changes on people on the ground.

The Bill proposes the repeal of 71 Acts, including the Indian Tramways Act, 1886, the Levy Sugar Price Equalisation Fund Act, 1976, and the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (Determination of Conditions of Service of Employees) Act, 1988.

It also seeks to amend four laws—the General Clauses Act, 1897, the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, to update terminology relating to registered posts, and the Indian Succession Act, 1925, to remove the requirement for court validation of wills in certain cases. In addition, the Disaster Management Act, 2005, is proposed to be amended to correct a drafting error.

Meghwal said that since 2014, a total of 1,577 archaic laws had been either repealed or amended, of which 1,562 were repealed and 15 reenacted.

During the discussion, Subhash Barala (BJP) said outdated laws had caused hardship to people and their removal would eliminate long-standing obstacles. Sushmita Deo (AITC) said the Bill offered an opportunity for course correction by identifying legal provisions that worked against civil liberties, democracy and dissent.

KRN Rajeshkumar (DMK), Subash Chandra Bose Pilli (YSRCP), Niranjan Bishi (BJD), M Thambidurai (AIADMK), A A Rahim (CPI(M)), Haris Beeran (IUML), Madan Rathore (BJP), Ramji (BSP), Ashok Kumar Mittal (AAP), Kalpana Saini (BJP) and Mahua Maji (JMM) also took part in the debate.